This Time, Imperfect
by nakanaka
Summary: Kyohei/Sunako. Sunako's aunt wants her to move to Paris to make her a lady herself. Kyohei doesn't want her to go, but is that only because the landlady will triple the rent? M for language and brief sexual humor. R&R please!
1. I'm drawn to a blackened sky

AN: I thought I should mention that I won't be writing Kyohei's name as Kyouhei. No, it's not because I don't know that it's supposed to be a long vowel, I'm actually a Japanese major and I know what I'm doing. I'm just used to reading the Del Rey English comics, and that's how they spell it. Also, Kyouhei looks too long and round to really represent him in my mind. That's just how I like it, I'm sorry. In Del Rey they put first names before last names, but I am going to try to reverse that in my writing (Nakahara Sunako, Takano Kyohei) and that may seem contradictory to the first thing but it's my fanfic and this is English and I'll do what I want *pantpant*.

Second of all, the action may be a little..unrealistic. I tried to replicate the pictorial antics of the manga. I hope it works. I'm working on it. Bear with me. Here are my prompts:

30_romances: 15. Take a hint ; Scram!

30_kisses: 2. news; letter

18coda: 16. Mosso (Italian: moved, agitated)  
_more, with motion or animation_~fighting, leaving

* * *

Nakahara Sunako's fingers trembled as she gripped the perfumed letter, grinding her teeth as she read her aunt's words over and over again.

"You're gonna rip that thing in half," laughed Kyohei, but his humor died abruptly when he saw the look on her face. Wordlessly he took his steaming plate of white rice and broiled fish into another room.

Takenaga and Ranmaru glared at his cruel betrayal—wasn't he the closest one to Sunako? –but they slowly retreated from the table with their food. Yuki, oblivious, suddenly realized he was the only one still within range. One look at Sunako's expression and he feared for his life.

"S-Sunako-chan…?" he whimpered.

Begrudgingly the creature of night raised her gaze and turned Yuki to stone.

"Yuki!" called Takenaga as the frozen boy toppled over and shattered; Ranmaru grabbed Sunako by the arm.

"What's wro-" He was cut off as Sunako whipped her arm backwards and sent Ranmaru face first onto the floor.

"What the hell is going on in there?" came Kyohei's unconcerned voice from the other room. "You guys better not be breaking shit!"

"Sunako-chan's gone insane!" yelled Takenaga. "We need backup!"

"If you make me get off this couch, I'm gonna be really pissed," he grumbled.

Wind began to rise around Sunako, whipping her hair around like writhing snakes. The dishes and silverware rattled and the lights flickered. Unearthly noises emerged from her throat. Her face was a mask of fury. Her knuckles were white as they threatened to tear the letter in two.

"Is that…perfume?" Kyohei wondered aloud, rising from the couch with audible effort and returning to the kitchen. He seemed unfazed by Sunako's transformation into the Demon Lord…as if her fits were more of a nuisance than something to be feared.

But then, the others didn't know her like he did.

The golden-haired boy pinched the top of the letter and tugged gently, but the Demon Lord wouldn't turn it over so easily. Sunako's hellish gaze twisted up to match his cool confidence, livid at his boldness.

"Get a _hold_ of yourself!" Kyohei yelled, and smacked her in the face.

Takenaga and Ranmaru were visibly shocked. Yuki's last expression of fear and shock was still an appropriate reaction.

The wind died and the dishes settled; Sunako stood motionless in recoil from the strike. Kyohei was unrepentent. He yanked the letter from her limp hands and read aloud:

"My dear Sunako-chan! 3

"The weather here in France has just been gorgeous lately. Really, there hasn't been a cloud in the sky since February! Spring in Europe is wonderful—there aren't any cherry blossoms, but there is such beautiful scenery and such rich history, it's all beautiful. Things are going so well with my Darling, I just can't see being apart from him for even a moment. Of course I miss you, Sunako-chan, and this is why I want you to come live with me here in Paris!"

Kyohei paused in disbelief, but the others urged him to continue.

"I know you're probably surprised, as this is very sudden. But don't pretend you don't understand. I know you hate living there with those boys, and I know Kyohei is not really your boyfriend. I can't imagine you really care for him, knowing you. But it's not in my nature to just kick four poor young men out on the curb like that, their parents would be heartbroken. I'll just triple their rent. I think your progress into a real lady would be much faster if you came to Paris—here there are real ladies! I will be flying home next week to pick you up. Love, Auntie~

"P.S. Don't bother packing any of your ugly black clothes or your creepy skulls. We'll buy you all new clothes!"

A hush fell upon the room. They all had figured the landlady had given up trying to turn Sunako into a traditional lady, especially when she saw the girl's true dark obsessions. Had this only spurred her ambition?

Takenaga, always the quickest with words, was the first to speak. "P-Paris? All the way to France?"

Smooth Ranmaru was the next to react, albeit on a different train of thought: "She's fallen for a Frenchman, I see…"

"Sunako-chan is leaving?" whispered Yuki, recovered.

"Triple rent?!" said Kyohei. "Are you kidding me? That old bag is going to triple our rent!"

"Yuki's going to have to cook," groaned Ranmaru. Kyohei and Takenaga made wretching noises and Yuki's eyes filled with tears.

"You guys are so mean," he told them. "You don't even care how poor Sunako feels!"

The boys turned their attention to Sunako, her long bangs hiding her face. Kyohei could see from the slight shivering of her shoulders that she was trying not to cry.

Takenaga took the heavily scented letter from him and scanned it once more. "'Don't bother packing any of your ugly black clothes or your creepy skulls.' She's really trying to make Sunako-chan a real lady this time."

"It'll never work," said Kyohei, rolling his eyes. "Sunako's not like any other girl. I wish the landlady would just give up already and let her stay here."

"Well, what are we going to do?" asked Ranmaru. "I know _you_ can't afford triple rent, Kyohei, since you can't even keep a job."

"Shut the hell up!"

"Guys, don't fight!" said Yuki. "What are we going to do about Sunako-chan?"

"What can we do?" Kyohei shot back. "Turn her into a lady? Sunako's not _normal_! She can't leave, or we'll have to pay triple the rent!"

The others were shocked into silence. Unfazed, Kyohei turned back to face Sunako, whose fists were trembling. But when she spoke, her voice was clear and spiteful.

"I know I'm not _normal_!" she spat. "Every day at school I get treated like I'm a monster—either everyone's scared of me or they pretend I don't exist. And you don't know how much shit I get for being '_that girl_' who lives with you creatures of light. I don't care what anyone thinks of me. The only ones who understand me are Josephine and Akira-kun and Hiroshi-kun!"

She fled from the room, long black hair flying out behind her.

"Suna-" started Yuki, but Takenaga put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Better to let her sulk in her room then incur her wrath again.

All eyes turned to Kyohei.

"Not _normal_? Really, Kyohei? You had to say it?" Ranmaru asked quietly. When he didn't answer, Ranmaru continued. "Is rent really that important to you? You can't even think about how Sunako might feel, leaving home and everything she loves?"

"Triple rent is-"

"Forget the fucking rent!" interrupted Ranmaru. "I know you can't even control your temper at work, and you don't give a rat's ass about Sunako beyond what she makes for dinner, but just don't be such an asshole to her, you know? She does a lot for all of us, so stop being so goddamn selfish."

"Shut the fuck up!" Kyohei yelled. "You don't know anything about me! Have your fucking parents pay for your rent, some of us aren't pampered pussies and have to pay it ourselves. Sunako's not leaving and that's that!"

He strode past them to leave, but Ranmaru caught his arm and whirled him around. "You better fucking apologize to her," growled Ranmaru. Kyohei shrugged him off and stormed out.

Yuki sniffed sadly. "Can't we all just get along?"

Ranmaru was too pissed to answer, and Takenaga was lost in thought, so Yuki never got an answer.


	2. Asphyxiate on words I would say

AN: Thanks for all the encouragement, guys! You have no idea how much it means to me. Guess I'll keep 'em coming then? ^^ I really like the idea of them in total darkness, I think I'll write an alternate ending where this plays out a little more…interestingly. What do you guys think? Prompts are still:

30_romances: 15. Take a hint ; Scram!

30_kisses: 2. news; letter

18coda: 16. Mosso (Italian: moved, agitated)  
_more, with motion or animation_~fighting, leaving

Fuck.

Not like it was his fault, anyway. Sunako-chan knew as well as anyone that she wasn't a normal girl. She watched bloody horror movies in her pitch-dark room all day, got ferocious nosebleeds whenever a decently attractive person got too close, and cooked better than anything Kyohei had ever tasted. If he wanted anything besides microwave ramen he was going to have to make this right.

Ranmaru had really chewed him out, really taken it on himself to teach Kyohei a lesson. Takenaga had more of a quiet anger that fumed inside for a few days before it burst, and Yuki would just burst into tears if he was really upset about something. Kyohei felt like punching something. The others ragged on him for not being able to control his temper, but they didn't know how good it felt to hit some creepy old man who hired you just to pinch your ass. His good looks had gotten him into enough trouble, and sometimes his fists were the only thing that got him out of it. Ranmaru had his words, Takenaga had his smarts, Yuki had his babyface. Kyohei had his attitude.

This was one problem he couldn't resolve with his strength however. Not like he hadn't wanted to smack Sunako around a few times—the girl was batshit crazy—but she was one of the few people, male or female, who could _almost_ match him in strength. He liked girls with a little fight. Just not ones that had so much impact on his rent.

He couldn't explain why he was stepping so carefully on the way to her room, as if he was afraid she'd hear him coming. She should know they'd send him to apologize. He'd have to get her attention anyway. Why was he tip-toeing around her? Was he nervous?

Wait, why the hell would he be nervous? He'd lived with Sunako-chan for almost a year now. He knew exactly what to expect from her. She hadn't changed since the day he moved in.

Maybe he had.

Kyohei hesitated before knocking; his fingers faltered and his knuckles dragged against the door. Lamest knock ever. But he couldn't bring himself to actually connect his hand to the door in an audible manner. His fist clenched against its wooden surface in frustration.

The door moved beneath his hand, opening from the inside by itself like a horror movie. Nothing less from Sunako. He pushed it open with more bravado than he felt—he wasn't afraid of Sunako-chan, or her creepy anatomical models. Fuck it.

The girl sat curled in the middle of the room in front of her television hissing static. Her long black hair draped down her white T-shirt, the only thing visible in the erratic light from the TV. Kyohei felt like he was stepping out of the real world and into _The Ring_.

She didn't turn around when the door clicked shut behind him, nor when his bare feet thudded lightly against the floor as he approached her.

"Sunako."

He crouched next to her. The snowstorm on the screen reflected eerily in her eyes.

"Sunako!"

He found the power button on the TV and turned it off, covering the room in utter darkness. It was impossible to see his hand in front of his face, or even Sunako's pale white skin. Her white T-shirt was as invisible as the walls around him. The darkness was almost tangible—he could feel the air thickening in his throat, swallowing his words before he could form them. His voice sounded alien when he managed to speak again.

"Sunako, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said before—"

"Don't lie."

Her retort startled him. He knew she was gonna hand it to him, but her words were dripping with spite. It made him angry.

"Look, don't kid yourself, you know you're not like other girls. I don't know anyone else who'd be sitting in a pitch black room with skeletons and shit."

"I don't care what you think of me. I don't care what anyone thinks of me," she answered coldly, calmly. "I'm not going to France, but not because of your _rent_."

"What the fuck, I said I was sorry," panted Kyohei, the blackness sucking oxygen from his lungs.

"I don't want your apologies. I didn't come in here for you to follow me."

"You flipped a shit out there and you expect to just go to your room and have it all be OK?" he demanded. "You can't just make a scene like that and pretend that nothing happened. You can't pretend that nothing has happened."

"Nothing _has_ happened," she said carefully, in a way that made Kyohei question if they were still talking about the same thing.

"What do you mean, nothing has happened?"

She didn't reply, but he could hear her breathing heavily, closer than he thought. He wished he could see her face, judge her reactions, figure out what the hell she was really thinking. But knowing her, the only way he'd get an honest answer from her was in this darkness, where his looks couldn't give her a nosebleed and she couldn't be conscious of her own appearance.

"You can't leave," he sighed. "We need you here."

A great deal of the anger vanished from her tone, but she was far from happy. "I never said I was going."

"I-I know that," he said a little harshly, searching for words to match his feelings. He wasn't one for complicated shit. He wanted to yell at Sunako for being ridiculous and storm out and break things. But she didn't want to leave either, so what could he yell at her about? Why did he want to yell at her anyway? Why was she fucking up his mind all of a sudden?!

"Why are you so angry at me?" she asked bluntly.

"I should go," he replied hastily. Think things over. Break things. He rolled forward onto his knees to stand up, but she must have been closer than he thought: he barreled into her and they hit the floor hard in a tangle of arms and legs. Some joint—probably her elbow—hit him square in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Kyohei blinked stupidly, finding himself sprawled across her slender body. He located his legs and lifted his weight off her, gasping for air; she was breathing hard too, probably from being crushed under him. He hesitated, hovering over her on his elbows and knees. Breathing.

He couldn't catch his breath.

She said nothing. He couldn't hear anything over his own panting, couldn't think beyond the chaos in his mind. She fucking confused him.

"What's wrong?"

His hand grazed her bare arm, his legs intertwined with hers; her face was invisible to him, but he could feel her breath against his face, against his lips.

Kyohei ripped himself away before the surge of adrenaline could finish its course. He felt himself get up, rise unsteadily, wander to where the door used to be, fuck where was this fucking handle? The light of the hallway was physically painful after such utter darkness. He glanced backward and saw Sunako sitting up slowly, raise her hand to her face…her fingers were bloody…

The door abruptly slammed shut, locking him out.


	3. I'd tell you how it haunts me

AN: I'm coming into finals right about now, and since I have my priorities mostly in order, I won't be able to update this quite as often as I'd like to from now until the end of the month perhaps. This is tragic as I have some more plot twists and turns for this story and some more Sunakyohei fic ideas too, so rest assured I am not giving up! I would just like to pass my courses D: Anywho, enjoy!

* * *

"Takano-san!" barked his English teacher, fidgeting with his square-rimmed glasses. Warm sunlight from the windows glinted off his bald spot. Kyohei's desk was luckily near the windows, and he often spent these spring afternoons watching students walk by outside or cat-napping in the sun. He was interrupted only occasionally—he wasn't one of the brighter kids in the class, so despite his good looks he often snuck by under the teacher's radar if he kept quiet.

Except in English class. The middle-aged d-bag had spent a semester in Australia and that somehow gave him unlimited knowledge of the language that even Kyohei could tell he spoke badly.

"Takano-san! If you would _grace_ us with your translation of line 25?"

He was tempted to reply, _I believe it says 'Suck my balls'_ but he didn't feel like skipping another detention this afternoon. Besides, he'd be forced to stand in the hall like a middle schooler, and he was comfortable. Kyohei glanced at the page and skimmed the lines of straight, angular English.

"Zees frowaz ah byootihul."

He looked up at the awkwardly whispered English. The girl in front of him was twisted around, offering him a saccharine smile. She twisted her blonde hair around her finger as she repeated, "The translation."

She would later disect every possible interpretation of his blank expression as he returned his attention to his surprised English teacher and repeated, "These flowers are beautiful."

"T-that's correct. Now, on to line 26…"

The girl winked at him, probably expecting a gentlemanly grin and a thank-you invitation to a fancy restaurant. Unfortunately for her, that was more Ranmaru's style. Kyohei wasn't in the mood for swooning girls anyway. He was still trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with Sunako-chan.

The others hadn't taken the news of his failed apology very well. He didn't tell them about knocking her over—then he'd have to explain the new bloodstain on her carpet. Ranmaru would have thought he hit her, he never would have understood that it was just a nosebleed, not after seeing Sunako flip out like that. It just would have brought up too many questions Kyohei couldn't answer.

Sunako-chan hadn't left her room since then. Perhaps she was savoring her last moments in darkness until her aunt swooped in to come get her, lining her suitcase with illegal or questionable goods. Maybe she was building a fort to hunker down in and fight to the last anatomical doll to stay in Japan. Kyohei couldn't imagine her crying her eyes out. Sunako wasn't that weak. She'd be looking for an escape.

_Nothing_ has _happened_. Did she mean…? Well, nothing had happened between them, exactly. Not that anything would happen, I mean, it's Sunako-chan. She can't handle being close to me without getting a vicious nosebleed, so how could we ever—no, nothing had happened, and nothing could ever happen. Not that I wanted it to. There was nothing between us. Nothing at all.

His stomach dropped. He felt like he was back in Sunako-chan's room, choking. Shit, he had to calm down. The girl was turning around again, giving him a concerned look. He pretended to stare intently out the window, let her think he was lost in thought. She would later swoon and tell her friends he was misunderstood.

There was nothing interesting outside to distract him from the realization that _that thought_ frightened him, made him sick. The thought that there was nothing between them. There _was_. There was…something. He felt differently towards her than he did the boys, obviously, but also differently from other girls, even ones he'd liked enough to date. They were nice, sure, but he'd never been too broken up after they were gone. Now just the thought of Sunako leaving made him lose his mind. It wasn't possible that he—no, it wasn't. Was it?

Did he love her?

Somehow just asking himself this question made his body return to normal: his stomach settled, he could breathe normally. This seemed to be a subconscious _yes_. Fuck.

Fuck!!!

He looked up and saw every eye in his classroom pinned on him. The teacher's face was a mask of horror. Shit. Had he just said that out loud?

Apparently he had.

While his English teacher was still grasping for words in any language, Kyohei slid out from his desk and booked it out of the room. He could retrieve his books later; right now, he just needed to get as far away from the classroom as possible. Let them gossip about Takano Kyohei's sudden profane outburst and his mysterious exit. Like they didn't have enough rumors about him already.

They'd get even worse when they found out that the hottest guy in school was in love with the ghostly freak.

It felt good to run—the rhythmic pounding of his feet on the tiles of the school onto the cement outside, across the grass as he cut through the courtyard and back onto concrete down the side streets away from the school. Ignoring direction, ignoring the fact that he just left in the middle of class, ignoring the fact that he couldn't run away from his thoughts…it still felt good to get his blood moving.

He slowed to a walk on a sidewalk he didn't recognize, some back road several blocks away from where his teacher was probably still sputtering Engrish at the blonde girl who'd been trying to catch his eye and the rest of the class muttering about bad boy Takano, he yelled the F-word in the middle of class and just ran out! I wonder if he's cracked? Maybe he just realized he's in love with the goth freakshow, the last girl on earth who'd ever love him back? Maybe both?

He guessed he'd resigned himself to admitting his feelings to himself (certainly never to Sunako-chan). But now what? He'd have to go back to school, come up with an excuse, act like nothing had happened. He didn't have to worry about Sunako leaving, she wouldn't leave, she didn't want to go any more than he wanted her to. She had her own reasons. He had reasons too.

* * *

When Kyohei finally returned to school (hours later; he wasn't going to ditch class just to run right back) whispers followed his every move down the hall. Crowds parted before him, not in admiring awe as usual, but in order to stare at him as they excitedly passed rumors along to their friends. Luckily Kyohei had long stopped caring what people thought.

He jogged back to his now empty classroom and wove through the desks only to see that his stuff was gone. Great. His mind raced with the possibilities—stolen, confiscated by teacher as collateral, taken by class rep—and as he whirled around to begin his investigation, he nearly knocked over the blonde girl from earlier, who was clutching his books to her rather well-endowed chest.

Damn. She caught him looking.

That didn't stop her from smiling up at him and holding his books a little tighter. "Are these yours?" she asked, though she clearly knew the answer.

"Yeah," he answered a bit impatiently, holding out his arms to take them, but she was reluctant to let them go.

"Um, Kyohei-kun…" she began, sliding closer. "I don't know how to say this, but… I've liked you for a really long time, but I never got the courage to say anything… You're so popular, and so good-looking and I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date… Kyohei-kun?"

Kyohei's attention had long since wandered away. A dark gloominess had settled at the fringes of his mind: Sunako-chan was nearby. He glanced at the doorway and there she stood, her black dress draped across her frame, cloaking the frightening strength the girl possessed. As her eyes bore into him he became acutely aware of how close his hands were to blonde chick's chest—to his textbooks, really, but behind those, her chest—Sunako's expression was unreadable.

"Ah! Oh, it's just Nakahara-san," gasped the blonde girl, trying to mask the fear in her voice with spite. "She's like a ghost, the way she wanders the halls all in black and everything… It's a pity she has no friends here. She's not exactly normal, but—"

"Shut up!" He whirled back to this nameless girl badmouthing Sunako.

She recoiled in shock at the strength of his reaction. "I-I'm sorry, what?"

"Shut the fuck up! You don't know Sunako-chan at all, so don't you dare say anything bad about her!"

"Sunako…_chan_?" Her eyebrows raised at the intimate suffix. "You mean you—and _her_…"

Shit. Kyohei could see the wheels turning in her head. He should stop them. He didn't want to. He could feel Sunako's eyes on him, waiting for his next move. He was awful at chess.

He turned away from the blonde girl and moved towards the door, towards Sunako-chan. It seemed like the natural thing to do.

"What? You're—you're turning me down? For _her_?" she accused in shock. "You've got to be kidding me! She's dis_gus_ting and _creepy_ and—"

Each insult send bursts of furious adrenaline through his body, giving him enough courage to wrap an arm roughly around Sunako-chan's waist, turning and dipping her so the girl got a good look as he kissed Sunako on the mouth.

Sunako's face was priceless.

Blondie's was even better.

Before either of them could recover, Kyohei decided now would be a good time to exit stage left.


	4. Just these stark words I find

Disclaimer: Should probably start putting these. If I owned the Wallflower, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction for it, now would I?

AN: Apparently Takenaga is a Monty Python fan? I feel like if he spoke English natively he would be. That's why there's Kyohei's "bloody" pun thrown in ('cause I'm so clever D eheh) Sorry for the wait, you might be glad to know I passed my finals so the break was worth it. Different prompts for this one:

18coda: 3. Canon—twisted imitation

30_kisses: 12. In a good mood

30_romances: 12. Gargoyle

* * *

When Kyohei finally returned home—he thought another walk would do him some good after the stunt he pulled at school; you don't kiss Sunako in front of a gossip with no consequences—he was kinda maybe possibly hoping the whole thing had blown over. If he was lucky, the guys wouldn't even know about what had happened, and Sunako-chan would have blocked it out of her mind.

Of course he wasn't so lucky.

"Look who it is~" smirked Ranmaru as soon as Kyohei opened the door.

"Interesting day at school?" asked Takenaga innocently. Kyohei closed the door and ignored them.

"Akiko said you kissed Sunako-chan!" Yuki blurted out.

"Thanks Yuki. Way to spoil all our subtle cues," Ranmaru sighed. "But the point's been made. Spill, Kyohei!"

"No."

Takenaga cut him off as he made to escape. "You're not getting off easy from this one!"

"Sing for us, Kyohei! What happened?"

"Nothing! Nothing happened!"

"Aww, _please_ Kyohei?" begged Yuki with puppy-dog eyes.

Kyohei was unmoved. "No."

A banshee scream erupted from the bowels of the house.

"What the holy hand grenade was that?" Takenaga asked aloud, hands over his ears. Yuki ducked under the table and huddled like he was preparing for an earthquake drill.

It wasn't long before Sunako-chan danced into their presence. _Danced_.

The boys stared.

"Su-Sunako-chan, are you feeling all right?" asked Takenaga tentatively. She was waltzing about with a computer printout as her dance partner. Kyohei gingerly snatched the sheet of paper from her hands and the boys huddled around it curiously while Sunako continued her twisted imitation of a ballroom dance.

The crummy black-and-white printer had butchered the image at the top of the page, but they could still make out an old mansion adorned with gargoyles along the rooftops and lonely candles floating in the windows. _Good evening_, the printout greeted gloomily in gothic English typeface. _The French chapter of the La Cordoro Historical Society co-coru…corude…_

"Cordially," corrected Takenaga, reading where Kyohei's shoddy English left off. "We cordially invite you to the opening of a new exhibit detailing the horrific realities of the French Revolution. In addition to chillingly real sets and reenactments of the political strife, we have on display a refurbished guillotine—the very one that beheaded Marie Antoinette herself."

"Who's Marie An…Anto-nine…whozawhatsit?"

"Marie Antoinette," interjected Ranmaru with a proper French accent, "was a beautiful queen of France, mistress of fashion and luxurious living before she was tragically beheaded—"

"By political fanatics in the French Revolution, one of the bloodiest time periods in history," finished Takenaga, ignoring the shoujo sparkles and rose petals that seemed to naturally secrete from Ranmaru's body in these moods. "I'm guessing you don't pay attention in English _or_ history, so I'll tell you that this is exactly the kind of thing Sunako would jump for."

Yuki squeaked like a mouse being stepped on at the sound of this. "I think those gargoyles are eyeing me, guys…"

"Marie Antoinette was a _lady_ unlike any other. Maybe it will rub off on Sunako-chan!" said Ranmaru hopefully.

"You forget the part where Sunako-chan _leaves_ and we get _triple rent to pay_," Kyohei retorted. "There's no way she can go, no matter how bloody awesome this French exhibit thing is."

Ranmaru smirked at him and made a noise indicating his disbelief. "You'd stop her?"

"Hell yeah, if I had to."

This snapped Sunako out of her daze. She whirled on Kyohei and fixed him with a stare that would melt a wax statue.

"You can't stop me," she scoffed. "No mortal can keep me from being at that exhibit when it opens."

"No mortal can make me pay triple rent," he countered. "I thought you didn't even want to go to France anyway?"

"That was before," she insisted.

Kyohei shrugged and grinned in that way that made her twitch. "Well, that's too bad, because you're not going."

Hearing a real feud brewing, the others' survival instincts were alerted; they made a quiet exit from the room, hoping neither would notice that they remained within earshot. Yuki had his cellphone out ready to speed dial the hospital, police, or fire department if things got ugly.

"What the fuck, Sunako-chan! You're just gonna take off because of some museum thing?" they heard Kyohei yell. "Your aunt is still going to throw out all your evil shit and make you into a lady. Or did you forget that part?"

"I didn't _forget_," she said coldly. "What I do with my life is my business, not yours. Why do you care so much?"

Kyohei tried not to stammer his reply. "I don't want to have to pay triple rent," he managed. "I'm broke enough as it is without the landlady hiking up the prices of this place. I'd have to find another place to live…and I can't go back to my parents." His expression was bitter, his eyes alight with determination. "You know I can't go back there."

Sunako was unsympathetic. "What do you want me to do?..."

He cut her off before she could throw out a sarcastic suggestion. "The landlady is as flighty as they come! If you just wait until this blows over, she'll forget it ever happened!"

"Don't speak about my aunt like she's some thoughtless—"

"_Thoughtless_? The woman wants you to be someone you're not!"

"Oh, and _you_ would know?" Sunako put a hand on her hip.

"I'm not blind, Sunako-chan. You're not a normal girl. You watch the goriest horror movies you can find, you make better food than five-star restaurants but you can barely add, you're not afraid of cockroaches or spiders but you can't stand to see yourself in the mirror… Shall I keep going?"

She didn't move, but something in her demeanor seemed placated. He saw an opening, but wasn't sure how to approach it. Girls were fucking complicated. Sunako-chan was no exception.

"I don't like seeing people force you to be this…this _thing_ that you're not. Every girl is trying to be that, Blondie is trying to be that—"

"Her name is Akiko."

"I don't care what her name is. I've never seen her before today and I don't exactly plan on seeing her any time soon—"

"You not gonna show up to class? She's been sitting in front of you all semester."

Annoyed his train of thought was derailed, Kyohei snorted, "And how is she important?"

Sunako folded her arms. "You kissed me today to prove a point to her."

He recalled the scene rather vividly, but no matter how he thought about it, she did have a point. He wouldn't have kissed Sunako in public—or at least in view of anyone else—otherwise.

Sunako saw that he acknowledged it, however begrudgingly, and continued. "I don't know if you were trying to defend me or if you just wanted to really rub the rejection in her face. If the first, then if you know me so well, then you should know I don't need defending. I don't care what people think. And if the second, well, I didn't think you were that much of a prick, Kyohei."

He could hear the thoughts in his mind slurring together, turning into the jumbled mush that had caused him to bolt from his classroom earlier that day. There were bad thoughts, bad bad thoughts. But he couldn't help it. His epiphany from that morning repeated over and over like the chorus of a song; he was drawn to the same conclusion no matter how he looked at the situation. And he couldn't run from it now. He didn't want to.

"You're right," he answered steadily, his voice regaining a calmness and clarity it had lost in the heat of the argument. It stemmed not from lack of emotion, but from acceptance of it.

Sunako was surprised at a sudden easy victory. "What do you mean, I'm right?"

"Blondie—Akiko—she wasn't the only one I was proving a point to," he said. He locked Sunako's eyes with his own and forbade her to look away. She hardly blinked as he moved closer.

"I had to prove something to you, and to myself," Kyohei continued. "But that was wrong of me to do. I shouldn't have kissed you to win an argument or rub rejection in her face or…be selfish with it…" He was losing his focus, entranced in Sunako's gaze as she was in his. Perhaps surprise was the only thing keeping her silent, but he allowed himself to imagine there was more. He had lost track of how close he was moving to her, pulled towards her like the Earth to the sun, without power or will to stop. Suddenly the inevitable registered on her face, he saw it in her widening eyes, and before the nosebleed began their lips met.

Earlier that day, Sunako had been completely immobile for the briefest moment the kiss had lasted; it had been pretty awkward, as kisses go, but Kyohei knew she wasn't prepared for it, and honestly, this sort of thing wasn't Sunako-chan's strong suit.

So he thought.

He was more than a little surprised when the lips that had spat such cold and spiteful words at him actually warmed and pressed against his touch. Had Kyohei a little more control over his libido, the surprise might have jarred him enough to pull away; instead he allowed his hand to creep up the back of her neck to bury his fingers in her hair. He tried unsuccessfully to part her lips, but hey, couldn't hurt to try.

Sunako pulled away before he did. The kiss had lasted all of a couple seconds, maybe, but it had gotten Kyohei's heart pounding…and his blood moving.

Her eyes looked up at him searchingly.

"Fuck, Sunako-chan…" Kyohei leaned his forehead onto hers, one hand tugging on her hair playfully. "Please don't go to France. I have no reasons why it's my business, I know you want to see the exhibit and it's your own life and everything, and it's not because of the rent. Just…please, don't go."

Sunako's allotted time with creatures of the light was up. Blood spurted wildly from her nose.

A little relieved at the break in the tension, Kyohei laughed weakly and fetched some towels. "Fuck, Sunako-chan… Looks like you've built up some resistance, at least."

* * *

When late-night television had bored him more thoroughly than any class in school, Kyohei staggered from the couch to his room. In the hallway he passed Sunako-chan's doorway; ordinarily he wouldn't have paused there, where she could hear the creaking floorboards halt suspiciously and see his shadow under the door, but he noticed a computer printout sticking out from underneath Sunako's door.

It was ripped in two.

* * *

Author's Note: PS, guys, I'm tempted to end it here but I'm thinking of writing more where they deal with the Landlady coming to get Sunako anyway, and maybe them going on a trip to Paris anyway. What do you think? Reviews are a good way to let me know~ Thanks for reading!


	5. I'd show a smile, but I'm too weak

Disclaimer: I do not own The Wallflower or any of its characters, etc. etc.

Author's Note: Been a while since I updated! Sorry about that guys! My weekly writing parties are less frequent than I would like, sadly. No excuses! On with the chapter! (PS, I was thinking of writing about Noi and Sunako's shopping (mis)adventure and maybe their trip to Paris? What do you guys think?)

Different prompts again:

18coda: 11 rubato (Italian: stolen) ~**a moment to yourself, no pressure, independence**

30_romances: 29. Affaire de Cœur

30_kisses: 08. our own world

* * *

"I'm hooooome!" announced the landlady to…an empty house.

Dropping her designer luggage on the floor, she entered cautiously. The click-click of her high heels echoed in the entrance hall. "Sunako-chan? Boys? Where is everybody?"

"The landlady?" she heard a male voice ask, and followed it to the living room. Kyohei was draped lazily over the couch, watching Ninja Warrior.

"Good afternoon, Kyohei-kun," she greeted brightly, glancing around the otherwise vacant room. "Where is everyone?"

Without lifting his eyes from the screen, he droned, "Takenaga is at the library, Yuki is with his girlfriend, Ranmaru is…out…somewhere…" He gave her a look to prove he was telling the truth, and was just as surprised as she was: "And Sunako-chan is out shopping with Noi."

"Sh-shopping? Really? My Sunako?" She clapped her hands over her heart, as if to hold back the emotions from spilling out of her. "She's gone and become a lady without my help—" Her blissful mood reversed immediately and completely, her expression matching the severity of her tone. "That's what you want me to say, isn't it, Kyohei? I'm not going to fall for your weak tricks. Sunako-chan is still coming with me to Paris."

"I know it's going to be tough to hear this," Kyohei began, sitting up so he could face her. "But the truth is, Sunako-chan doesn't want to go to Paris, and we don't want her to go either."

"You don't have to lie to me, Kyohei," she returned. "I know you don't care whether she leaves or stays, you just want the money. Well, look, here, we'll take the money part out of it. You won't have to pay any more than you're paying now. How's that?" She folded her arms. "Now there's no reason for you to put up a fight."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" he answered, standing up and walking around the couch.

"Why is everyone gone? I specifically told Sunako I would be coming at this time…"

"I got rid of them." Her heavily made-up eyes widened as his tall frame moved before her. Was he angry? Or just determined? "I made sure they'd all be gone when you came. I don't want them to hear this."

"Hear _what_?" Realization. "Oh, don't tell me. You're telling me this is a real _affaire de cœur_?"

Silence.

"You're kidding! You haven't kissed her already?"

More silence.

"You…you have no idea what _affaire de cœur_ means, do you?"

"Not the slightest."

"It's French, my dear. 'Affair of the heart.' 'Love affair.'"

Kyohei frowned. "Can you skip the language lessons and just listen to what I have to say?"

She sighed, but obeyed. "Let's hear it."

"You shouldn't take Sunako to Paris, not for my sake or for anyone else's, but for her own." He could see she hadn't been expecting any reason but a selfish one, one of love. "Years ago, Sunako-chan gave up on being feminine, on being social, on ever finding happiness in another living person. Now, she has finally begun to branch out…a little. She has made friends, she spends lots of time outside of her room, she even goes outside… She's not like any other high school girl, certainly, but in the months that she has spent with us, she's made such progress. Not towards becoming a lady, but towards finding her _own_ happiness.

"What's most important for Sunako-chan right now is that you do _not_ take her to Paris, away from everything that makes her feel comfortable and happy and safe. Is turning her into a _lady_ something that would make _her_ happy? Or is it just your own selfish desire forced onto a girl just trying to find a place she belongs?"

The speech left Kyohei more breathless than he had anticipated, but the landlady was silent with shock. She rarely received the honor of hearing more than a grunt from the boy, never mind a lecture on her niece's well-being.

There was a brief awkward silence, then: "You do love her, don't you?"

At this moment the others barged in.

"Kyohei you ass, the landlady's coming today—"

"You _lied_—"

"The landlady will—"

Their protests were silenced as soon as they saw the tense standoff already in progress.

"Auntie! You're here already," called Sunako, ignoring the tension and cutting to the chase. "I feel bad that you came all this way to get me, but I really don't want to go to Paris. And who will cook for the guys if I'm gone?"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Sunako-chan," her aunt answered, embracing her with a kiss on her forehead. "I think, actually, I may not have had your best interests at heart in asking you to come to Paris," she admitted. "How about you come for summer vacation instead?"

Sunako smiled and nodded. "I would like that very much."

She couldn't see Kyohei smile softly behind her, nor could she hear him breathe a sigh of relief.


End file.
